From long lost Tim!
Hey there everyone, Lahic got a foot of snow last week (cringe). Just when I thought winter was over... I was getting really excited to break out the sneakers after months in hibernation, but it looks like I'll be trudging around in my boots for at least another couple of weeks.
Things are moving along pretty well here in the 'baijan. School is going ok but my classrooms are freezing! No gas = minimal warmth. Being this cold makes it difficult to teach when all you are thinking about is warmth, and I know it affects how the kids learn too. When I teach class many of the kids are rubbing their sleeves together just to generate some sort of heat. As difficult as it is to teach 20 or so noisy 10th graders a foreign language, this only adds to the problem. Is it spring yet???
The road to Lahic is a very rugged terrain. It is unpaved, icy and incredibly bumpy. It is through the mountains and many of the passes drop off over a hundred feet. There is no barricade or guard rails to protect motorists from plummeting off the side of the mountain if something were to go awry. Many times buses won't run during the winter months because it is simply too dangerous. On a couple of occasions, I have gotten stuck in the neighboring city Ismayilli because buses were not running. I have had to hitch rides on the side of the Lahic road twice already. One time a man on a tractor rolled up and offered me a ride which at the time seemed ok, but after 5 minutes or so of slowing treading up the road at a mere 4 mph, I hopped off. At that rate I would have made it home at about 6 o'clock that evening (mind you it was about noon when the tractor man picked me up). Just last Sunday we had a snow storm, but the buses were still running to and from Lahic suprisingly. I was a little paranoid about the conditions and the capabilities of an old Soviet bus in the harsh weather, but reluctantly I got on. Usually it takes about an hour to get from the city of Ismayilli to Lahic but this time it took about 2 and a half hours. The bus driver had to keep stopping and reversing the bus to get up the snowy slopes and he had to stop the bus numerous times so he and the other passengers could get out and remove boulders that were blocking the road. Getting home has never been more of a team effort. On one particular pass, the bus couldn't make it up, so everyone had to get out and walk about 2 miles back up to the village. Not fun. These are the challenges I face everytime I leave home. It wasn't all that bad though, on the ride up a couple of old ladies (xanims) offered me some candy and a sip off their juice box. Now that's not so bad.
Stay warm,
trc
Monday, March 2, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Georgia On My Mind
Dear friends,
I hope all your holidays went well and were somewhat relaxing for you. I didn't get to celebrate xmas, because it is not a recognized holiday here and I wasn't around volunteers at the time, but the good news is that I got to celebrate new year's in Baku! The city was very festive this year with many decorations and lights. There were Christmas trees and skinny Azeri men dressed up as Santa (or Shaxta Baba as he is known in Azerbaijan). With Santa, there was a man dressed up like the Easter Bunny and another as Shrek for some reason. I got to spend time and speak English with many of the other volunteers which was a nice change of pace from the village life I am becoming accustomed to. Many parts of Azerbaijan had a big snow storm so I had to stay in Baku an extra two days, which I wasn't the least bit sad about. For New Year's eve I went to a bar! Real cool I know, but I haven't been to one in about 4 months so it made for a surreal experience. It made me miss bartending, but only a little. The next couple of days many of us explored the city or hung out at the hotel. One night we played Apples to Apples and Oodles (game from the eighties) which I enjoyed.
Village life is going well so far. Teaching is ok and my English conversation clubs have many interested participants which is encouraging to see. Normally a volunteer has one or two conversation clubs a week but I have five because so many people showed up! I got my hands full at the moment. My language is coming along (slowly but surely) and my body is gradually readjusting to village food. The director gave me my own office at school with a little sign above the door that says,"Tim Cone's office, peace corps volunteer" and a picture of me grinning which is great, but it's freezing in here! I have a heater, but in order to use the computer and talk to people in cyberspace, it has to be unplugged or it's electricity overload. My hands are numb as I type this... The roads are very slippery because there are no sidewalks here, only cobblestones and consequently, I have fallen many times to the amusement of old ladies (xanims in Azeri) and my students. Many volunteers suggest that I build snow shoes or skis. We'll see. My host family has a cat that I started calling 'Remedy'. I have always been a dog person, but she's cool. She finally let me pet it for the first time the other day after I gave it some hot dog. In other random news, Azerbaijan is playing Germany, Finland and one other country this spring/summer for world cup qualifying which I am excited about. International soccer is huge here and the hooligans will be definitely be out. I will not be missing this.
This spring I will eventually be moving out of my host parents home and into my own living space which should be nice. My host family is great, but I am so accustomed to living by myself. Living alone here will have it's challenges though, like chopping a ton of wood to stay warm and cooking my own meals with the limited food selection in Lahic, but I feel I am up to the challenge. After all, one of the main reasons I joined Peace Corps was to challenge myself so I won't be holding anything back. In order to help myself through this challenge, I have enquired to villagers that I am in the market for a goat this spring. Goats are around eighty manat or about one hundred US dollars (1 AZN = 1.20$) which is a bit expensive with my budget, but definitely worth it with all that a goat can produce.
In other news, I am thinking of traveling to Tiblisi, Georgia (the country) this spring for the Novruz holiday! I'm pumped because I have heard many good things about Georgia from other volunteers and I'm always itching to travel to new places. This is another big reason I joined Peace Corps and I want to take full advantage of this.
Finally, I want to give a shout out to those keeping up with the blog and sending me messages from time to time. It's good to hear from all of you. If anyone is interested, you can contact me at timrcone@yahoo.com or else im on myspace as well. Keep in touch.
Your friend,
Tim
I hope all your holidays went well and were somewhat relaxing for you. I didn't get to celebrate xmas, because it is not a recognized holiday here and I wasn't around volunteers at the time, but the good news is that I got to celebrate new year's in Baku! The city was very festive this year with many decorations and lights. There were Christmas trees and skinny Azeri men dressed up as Santa (or Shaxta Baba as he is known in Azerbaijan). With Santa, there was a man dressed up like the Easter Bunny and another as Shrek for some reason. I got to spend time and speak English with many of the other volunteers which was a nice change of pace from the village life I am becoming accustomed to. Many parts of Azerbaijan had a big snow storm so I had to stay in Baku an extra two days, which I wasn't the least bit sad about. For New Year's eve I went to a bar! Real cool I know, but I haven't been to one in about 4 months so it made for a surreal experience. It made me miss bartending, but only a little. The next couple of days many of us explored the city or hung out at the hotel. One night we played Apples to Apples and Oodles (game from the eighties) which I enjoyed.
Village life is going well so far. Teaching is ok and my English conversation clubs have many interested participants which is encouraging to see. Normally a volunteer has one or two conversation clubs a week but I have five because so many people showed up! I got my hands full at the moment. My language is coming along (slowly but surely) and my body is gradually readjusting to village food. The director gave me my own office at school with a little sign above the door that says,"Tim Cone's office, peace corps volunteer" and a picture of me grinning which is great, but it's freezing in here! I have a heater, but in order to use the computer and talk to people in cyberspace, it has to be unplugged or it's electricity overload. My hands are numb as I type this... The roads are very slippery because there are no sidewalks here, only cobblestones and consequently, I have fallen many times to the amusement of old ladies (xanims in Azeri) and my students. Many volunteers suggest that I build snow shoes or skis. We'll see. My host family has a cat that I started calling 'Remedy'. I have always been a dog person, but she's cool. She finally let me pet it for the first time the other day after I gave it some hot dog. In other random news, Azerbaijan is playing Germany, Finland and one other country this spring/summer for world cup qualifying which I am excited about. International soccer is huge here and the hooligans will be definitely be out. I will not be missing this.
This spring I will eventually be moving out of my host parents home and into my own living space which should be nice. My host family is great, but I am so accustomed to living by myself. Living alone here will have it's challenges though, like chopping a ton of wood to stay warm and cooking my own meals with the limited food selection in Lahic, but I feel I am up to the challenge. After all, one of the main reasons I joined Peace Corps was to challenge myself so I won't be holding anything back. In order to help myself through this challenge, I have enquired to villagers that I am in the market for a goat this spring. Goats are around eighty manat or about one hundred US dollars (1 AZN = 1.20$) which is a bit expensive with my budget, but definitely worth it with all that a goat can produce.
In other news, I am thinking of traveling to Tiblisi, Georgia (the country) this spring for the Novruz holiday! I'm pumped because I have heard many good things about Georgia from other volunteers and I'm always itching to travel to new places. This is another big reason I joined Peace Corps and I want to take full advantage of this.
Finally, I want to give a shout out to those keeping up with the blog and sending me messages from time to time. It's good to hear from all of you. If anyone is interested, you can contact me at timrcone@yahoo.com or else im on myspace as well. Keep in touch.
Your friend,
Tim
Friday, January 2, 2009
Address
friends,
here is my new address!
Tim Coné
Lahic Settlement
Ismayilli Region
Azerbaijan Republic
if you want to send me anything, i am fond of new music and film, ernie ball guitar strings, interesting books, food and spices, coffee and tea, beef jerky, surprises!, neat socks, granola bars, and especially items that bring out your personality!
I know I haven't blogged in a while, but I promise a super blog really soon!
-Tim
here is my new address!
Tim Coné
Lahic Settlement
Ismayilli Region
Azerbaijan Republic
if you want to send me anything, i am fond of new music and film, ernie ball guitar strings, interesting books, food and spices, coffee and tea, beef jerky, surprises!, neat socks, granola bars, and especially items that bring out your personality!
I know I haven't blogged in a while, but I promise a super blog really soon!
-Tim
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Pictures
A 'line' in McDonald's, the maiden tower in Baku, salesmen and saleswomen in Azerbaijan, wild and crazy kids in San Fran (this was the day we lost our dear friend Ryan, but he was later found)
More Pictures
My host brother Isa and I playing around with camera settings, apple car in Sumqayit, and Lahic.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy late Thanksgiving
Friends! Sorry I have been so reclusive and withholding these past few weeks!
Ok so at the beginning of my blogs I try and answer any questions that readers might have about life in Azerbaijan. Ok so one question was, “what’s a typical day like?” Well usually there is language class in the morning from 9-1 where I and six others practice speaking, listening, and learning news words. We keep it silly, so it is not as if we are in a college lecture hall. After that, there are usually meetings in the afternoon that help the volunteers get prepared for their assignments (teaching English, youth development, or business) before we all go off to the different regions in the country. After this, I might have some tea or a drink with the other volunteers. I always eat with my host family which is nice, and I try and communicate the best I can with them in Azeri. During supper (not dinner, because here dinner is lunch) we usually always watch TV which usually includes but is not limited to Azeri and Turkish music videos, news, and of course soccer. Soccer is huge here, as you may have already guessed. At night, I might study language, play guitar, watch a movie with my host brother (I showed him Jackass 2 the other day) listen to music or read a book. On weekends I usually play soccer in the morning and then scrabble or dominos in the afternoon with the other volunteers. Pretty basic stuff I guess. It is definitely not a wild and glamorous lifestyle. Another question was “what do people wear?” The people of Azerbaijan all wear very formal looking clothes most of the time. There is no skin shown especially for females, although many of the girls wear tight jeans or pants. T shirts are rare, and shorts are unheard of. No one wears shorts, unless you’re playing soccer or something. You are not supposed to run for exercise in public, and if you do choose to, you have to wake up super early so no one sees you. Only then can you wear shorts. When I was in Baku, a beefcake European man was running near the beach of the Caspian sea with spandex shorts and everyone gave him the evil eye and/or laughed at him. He is lucky rocks were not hurled at him. Such is life in Azerbaijan. Men usually wear suits or sport coats with shirts and a tie. They also wear really shiny dress shoes with very pointed toes. Many of the school girls wear black skirts and what resemble Chuck Taylor’s. As an English teacher, I always have to be on top of my game when it comes to dress code. My dress shoes have to be clean, which isn’t always easy because there is mud everywhere. My pants cannot have dirt on them, or else the children will laugh. You have to be very careful not to get dirty. It is standard that I wear a shirt and a tie just about everyday to school. I don’t enjoy dressing up everyday, but I really don’t have the option not to. Good news is, when I’m not in school, I can wear pretty much whatever.
This last Friday, fellow TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) volunteers and I got our site placements! For the next two years, I will be living and working in the settlement Lahic. (pronounced ‘La-hij’). The settlement is in a northern region called Ismayilli which is located in the northeast of Azerbaijan. Lonely Planet describes Lahic: “With wonderful mountain hikes, horses to rent and a selection of homestays available, the quaint little coppersmith village of Lahic is a superb place to sample traditional rural life.” But get this, Lahic has its own language! Natives of Lahic speak Lahic. Crazy I know. I barely get by with the little Azerbaijani I know, only to be informed that Lahic has their own language! Should be interesting. Lahic is also a tourist town because of its history and beauty so it brings in many foreigners during the summer months. It is really cold there as well, but I think I can handle it. After the last winter in Milwaukee, I think I can live through any amount of cold/snow/gloom etc… Lahic is tucked away in the mountains, and the water comes naturally from springs in the mountains. There are water stations in the town where people fill copper jugs and haul them back to their houses. This is nice because this way I won’t have to boil and filter my water which can be tedious at times. There is also no gas in Lahic, so during the day it is very cold, but then at night we burn wood to stay warm. I will be visiting there tomorrow to meet my new host family and the English coordinators of the school I will be working in. Another interesting fact, there are a lot of elders in Lahic, and many of them live very long lives. The oldest woman in the village is 108! She was on the local news about a month back voting in the presidential election of Azerbaijan (the president is Ilham Aliev).
In other news, the traffic in Azerbaijan is terrifying. Mom if you are reading this, you would recoil in horror if you saw some of the things that I’ve seen drivers do. I am so very glad I don’t drive. The rules of American driving do not apply here. Everyone is constantly honking at one another, passing on the shoulder, passing in oncoming traffic lanes with less than 100 feet of space, and on top of it, not many drivers wear their seatbelts. The other day I was walking to school and I noticed a bunch of broken glass/headlight and a big paint streak on the brick wall that separates homes from the road. My host mother told me later that evening that a woman was hit by a car and killed on the same road I take to school. This accident happened at 8 am. I walked that same road at 8:45 am. It’s scary sometimes.
I visited Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan two weeks ago with my language class and LCF (language and cultural facilitator). Aside from terrible weather, the trip was pretty good. I couldn’t believe how many volunteers wanted to eat at the McDonald’s in Baku though! I took this opportunity to eat real Azeri food which was a great decision on my part, and I didn’t feel terribly ill 15 minutes later! Anyway, I went into the McDonald’s anyway just to see what it was like. It was exactly the same, but there is no such thing as a line. Everyone just pushes their way to the front to order. You have to be aggressive if you want cheeseburgers in AZ.
*Ok so this next part I wrote about a week later after I visited Lahic. So I just got back from Lahic, and it is indeed very beautiful, just as I had read and heard about. I am the only volunteer in my village which will be a big challenge because I won’t have the luxury of speaking English with other volunteers whenever I want. This is good though, because I will have to speak Azeri/Lahic to communicate, which will be good practice for me. Hopefully keeping occupied will not be as difficult as I think it might at times. My host family is really nice, and my host father is the head of the tourist information center in Lahic. He and my host mother are both teachers too. We all teach at the same school, and there is only one school in Lahic. My host parents have children, but they are older and studying in Baku and Istanbul. I was hoping for host siblings, but oh well. My counterpart (the other English teacher) is nice and runs his own internet café in town which was unexpected but such a bonus at the same time. Rural life will be difficult after having lived the last four years in a fairly large city. It will definitely take some getting used to. More to come on this.
Thanksgiving is not celebrated here, but some other volunteers and I had a pot luck dinner. Since my host mother rules the kitchen and won't let me cook (or clean anything for that matter), I was on juice duty. The juice is amazing here though. I came through with a plentiful selection including banana, cherry, and of course pomegranat. It was yummy and we played 'fact or crap' afterwards. Good times. Christmas is not celbrated here either, so send me some love.
Your friend,
Tim
Ok so at the beginning of my blogs I try and answer any questions that readers might have about life in Azerbaijan. Ok so one question was, “what’s a typical day like?” Well usually there is language class in the morning from 9-1 where I and six others practice speaking, listening, and learning news words. We keep it silly, so it is not as if we are in a college lecture hall. After that, there are usually meetings in the afternoon that help the volunteers get prepared for their assignments (teaching English, youth development, or business) before we all go off to the different regions in the country. After this, I might have some tea or a drink with the other volunteers. I always eat with my host family which is nice, and I try and communicate the best I can with them in Azeri. During supper (not dinner, because here dinner is lunch) we usually always watch TV which usually includes but is not limited to Azeri and Turkish music videos, news, and of course soccer. Soccer is huge here, as you may have already guessed. At night, I might study language, play guitar, watch a movie with my host brother (I showed him Jackass 2 the other day) listen to music or read a book. On weekends I usually play soccer in the morning and then scrabble or dominos in the afternoon with the other volunteers. Pretty basic stuff I guess. It is definitely not a wild and glamorous lifestyle. Another question was “what do people wear?” The people of Azerbaijan all wear very formal looking clothes most of the time. There is no skin shown especially for females, although many of the girls wear tight jeans or pants. T shirts are rare, and shorts are unheard of. No one wears shorts, unless you’re playing soccer or something. You are not supposed to run for exercise in public, and if you do choose to, you have to wake up super early so no one sees you. Only then can you wear shorts. When I was in Baku, a beefcake European man was running near the beach of the Caspian sea with spandex shorts and everyone gave him the evil eye and/or laughed at him. He is lucky rocks were not hurled at him. Such is life in Azerbaijan. Men usually wear suits or sport coats with shirts and a tie. They also wear really shiny dress shoes with very pointed toes. Many of the school girls wear black skirts and what resemble Chuck Taylor’s. As an English teacher, I always have to be on top of my game when it comes to dress code. My dress shoes have to be clean, which isn’t always easy because there is mud everywhere. My pants cannot have dirt on them, or else the children will laugh. You have to be very careful not to get dirty. It is standard that I wear a shirt and a tie just about everyday to school. I don’t enjoy dressing up everyday, but I really don’t have the option not to. Good news is, when I’m not in school, I can wear pretty much whatever.
This last Friday, fellow TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) volunteers and I got our site placements! For the next two years, I will be living and working in the settlement Lahic. (pronounced ‘La-hij’). The settlement is in a northern region called Ismayilli which is located in the northeast of Azerbaijan. Lonely Planet describes Lahic: “With wonderful mountain hikes, horses to rent and a selection of homestays available, the quaint little coppersmith village of Lahic is a superb place to sample traditional rural life.” But get this, Lahic has its own language! Natives of Lahic speak Lahic. Crazy I know. I barely get by with the little Azerbaijani I know, only to be informed that Lahic has their own language! Should be interesting. Lahic is also a tourist town because of its history and beauty so it brings in many foreigners during the summer months. It is really cold there as well, but I think I can handle it. After the last winter in Milwaukee, I think I can live through any amount of cold/snow/gloom etc… Lahic is tucked away in the mountains, and the water comes naturally from springs in the mountains. There are water stations in the town where people fill copper jugs and haul them back to their houses. This is nice because this way I won’t have to boil and filter my water which can be tedious at times. There is also no gas in Lahic, so during the day it is very cold, but then at night we burn wood to stay warm. I will be visiting there tomorrow to meet my new host family and the English coordinators of the school I will be working in. Another interesting fact, there are a lot of elders in Lahic, and many of them live very long lives. The oldest woman in the village is 108! She was on the local news about a month back voting in the presidential election of Azerbaijan (the president is Ilham Aliev).
In other news, the traffic in Azerbaijan is terrifying. Mom if you are reading this, you would recoil in horror if you saw some of the things that I’ve seen drivers do. I am so very glad I don’t drive. The rules of American driving do not apply here. Everyone is constantly honking at one another, passing on the shoulder, passing in oncoming traffic lanes with less than 100 feet of space, and on top of it, not many drivers wear their seatbelts. The other day I was walking to school and I noticed a bunch of broken glass/headlight and a big paint streak on the brick wall that separates homes from the road. My host mother told me later that evening that a woman was hit by a car and killed on the same road I take to school. This accident happened at 8 am. I walked that same road at 8:45 am. It’s scary sometimes.
I visited Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan two weeks ago with my language class and LCF (language and cultural facilitator). Aside from terrible weather, the trip was pretty good. I couldn’t believe how many volunteers wanted to eat at the McDonald’s in Baku though! I took this opportunity to eat real Azeri food which was a great decision on my part, and I didn’t feel terribly ill 15 minutes later! Anyway, I went into the McDonald’s anyway just to see what it was like. It was exactly the same, but there is no such thing as a line. Everyone just pushes their way to the front to order. You have to be aggressive if you want cheeseburgers in AZ.
*Ok so this next part I wrote about a week later after I visited Lahic. So I just got back from Lahic, and it is indeed very beautiful, just as I had read and heard about. I am the only volunteer in my village which will be a big challenge because I won’t have the luxury of speaking English with other volunteers whenever I want. This is good though, because I will have to speak Azeri/Lahic to communicate, which will be good practice for me. Hopefully keeping occupied will not be as difficult as I think it might at times. My host family is really nice, and my host father is the head of the tourist information center in Lahic. He and my host mother are both teachers too. We all teach at the same school, and there is only one school in Lahic. My host parents have children, but they are older and studying in Baku and Istanbul. I was hoping for host siblings, but oh well. My counterpart (the other English teacher) is nice and runs his own internet café in town which was unexpected but such a bonus at the same time. Rural life will be difficult after having lived the last four years in a fairly large city. It will definitely take some getting used to. More to come on this.
Thanksgiving is not celebrated here, but some other volunteers and I had a pot luck dinner. Since my host mother rules the kitchen and won't let me cook (or clean anything for that matter), I was on juice duty. The juice is amazing here though. I came through with a plentiful selection including banana, cherry, and of course pomegranat. It was yummy and we played 'fact or crap' afterwards. Good times. Christmas is not celbrated here either, so send me some love.
Your friend,
Tim
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